On January 24, 2024, Sigrist, Cheek, Potter & Huyser, PLLC (“SCP&H”) filed a notice of data breach with the Attorney General of Montana after discovering that an unauthorized party gained access to the company’s email system and cloud-based storage site. In this notice, SCP&H explains that the incident resulted in an unauthorized party being able to access consumers’ sensitive information. Upon completing its investigation, SCP&H began sending out data breach notification letters to all individuals whose information was affected by the recent data security incident.

If you received a data breach notification from Sigrist, Cheek, Potter & Huyser, PLLC, it is essential you understand what is at risk and what you can do about it. A data breach lawyer can help you learn more about how to protect yourself from becoming a victim of fraud or identity theft, as well as discuss your legal options following the Sigrist, Cheek, Potter & Huyser data breach. For more information, please see our recent piece on the topic here.

What Caused the Sigrist, Cheek, Potter & Huyser Data Breach?

The Sigrist, Cheek, Potter & Huyser data breach was only recently announced, and more information is expected in the near future. However, SCP&H’s filing with the Attorney General of Montana provides some important information on what led up to the breach. According to this source, on July 11, 2023, SCP&H detected suspicious activity within an employee’s email account as well as a cloud-based storage used to store documents. In response, SCP&H secured its email system and launched an investigation with the help of third-party cybersecurity specialists.

The SCP&H investigation confirmed that an unauthorized actor was able to access the company’s email system and cloud-based storage site between June 6, 2023 and July 12, 2023. SCP&H also determined that the unauthorized actor was able to access certain files containing confidential consumer information.

After learning that sensitive consumer data was accessible to an unauthorized party, Sigrist, Cheek, Potter & Huyser reviewed the compromised files to determine what information was leaked and which consumers were impacted. SCP&H completed this process on January 4, 2024.

On January 24, 2024, Sigrist, Cheek, Potter & Huyser sent out data breach letters to anyone who was affected by the recent data security incident. While the publicly available data breach letter does not indicate what type of information was leaked, the personalized data breach letters sent to victims should provide victims with a list of what information belonging to them was compromised.

More Information About Sigrist, Cheek, Potter & Huyser, PLLC

Sigrist, Cheek, Potter & Huyser, PLLC is an accounting firm based out of Scottsdale, Arizona. SCP&H offers a wide range of services to individual and business clients, including tax preparation, consulting services, business startup services, payroll and sales tax reporting, monthly bookkeeping, and financial statement preparation. Sigrist, Cheek, Potter & Huyser employs more than 25 people and generates approximately $5 million in annual revenue.